She Loves Me
by LOTSloverCSS
Summary: Richard and Kahlan each contemplate their growing love for one another.


**TITLE****:** She Loves Me

**AUTHOR****: **LOTSlove®

**CHARACTERS****: **Richard / Kahlan

**RATING****: **PG-13

**WARNINGS****:** Author Chooses Not to Use Warnings

**TIMELINE****: **Set during Season 1 before Ep 11 Confession

**DISCLAIMER****:** I'm completely obsessed with the show Legend of the Seeker and all things Richard and Kahlan. I love to write about them even though they cancelled my show and now I'm fighting to get it back!

**SUMMARY****: ** Richard and Kahlan each contemplate their growing love for one another.

**She Loves Me**

Stepping out of the water, Kahlan had never thought that a bath had ever felt so good. After all the long hard travel, it was felt beyond wonderful to be clean again, to be rid of the dirt and dust that had accumulated on her skin and in her hair.

Her dress was another story altogether. Drying off, she sighed to herself at she cast a glance at her white Confessor's dress lying in the grass that was not nearly as white as it once had been. Her poor dress had endured more fights and bloodshed than she cared to dwell on, more muddy paths and dusty roads than she could remember. It was a wonder it was even in one piece at this point.

And still they were no closer to defeating Darken Rahl or stopping him from getting all the Boxes of Orden. Time was not on their side, but she had to admit it was nice to take a small break. It was a luxury that they were rarely ever given or rarely took.

Kahlan glanced over the tall willows that grew by the lake to see her Seeker settling himself beneath the shade of a large elm tree, its large boughs hanging proudly over him as if to gladly shelter him from the sun's rays.

She couldn't help but let her gaze wander over him. It was something that she found herself doing more frequently than she should, more intently than was proper. Her thoughts always took her places that ended up bringing a blush to her cheeks and an ache of longing that couldn't be filled.

Pulling her corset on, her fingers absentmindedly worked the laces with practiced patience as her eyes continued to linger over what she wanted, but knew she could never have. How could life be so cruel to bring someone so perfect into her life only to taunt her with what could never be?

She bit her bottom lip, allowing it to slowly slide through her teeth as he settled back against the trunk of the tree, her blue-eyed gazed roaming over his handsome features. She loved his brown eyes, so full of warmth and love for life. She couldn't help but notice the way that he looked t her, the longing that simmered in those dark soulful depths as he stared at her. It was growing harder and harder to ignore as she found herself falling more and more in love with him.

Although she tried so hard to hide what she felt for him, she knew that her eyes had to betray her feelings for him as well. It was said that the eyes were the window to a person's heart, their very soul. Her heart was quickly filling with nothing but love for him, her soul finally feeling complete for the first time in her life.

How could it not reach her eyes when it seemed to consume every part of her?

Kahlan slipped an arm into one sleeve and then another as she allowed her thoughts to carry her wherever they chose to go. And she knew where they would carry…always to him, the one place she found that she always wanted to be.

Her heated gaze paused at his lips, remembering how they had felt against hers that night in the woods after he had woken her from that terrible nightmare. It had been so tentative and new and yet it had felt so right like she was finally home where she belonged.

If she focused hard enough, she swore she could still remember the taste of him on her tongue even now, the way his mouth had ravished hers in return after she had backed him into that tree. How could something that had felt so right, so perfect be so wrong?

So longed to feel that passionate hunger in him again, to feel in his touch what burned in his eyes when he looked at her. She wanted to feel, to experience what a normal woman was allowed to enjoy and take great pleasure in. She longed to love and be loved in return.

Raking her fingers back through her long wet hair, her eyes came to rest on his hands, imagining the feel of them against her skin, picturing the way he would remove her dress, his fingers sliding it off of her body. She shivered with the thought, her mouth suddenly dry as she worked at fastening the laces of her dress when all she wanted was for him to remove it.

She was so ready to give him all of her; not just her friendship, her companionship, her protection, but all of herself in every way. She wanted to know him just as intimately she wanted him to know her, to know every inch of his perfect form, to feel the racing of his heart beneath her fingers as they gave and took from each other.

Kahlan felt heated arousal pool in her core, causing her magic to stir in response to her growing need for her Seeker. She tried to tamp down on her desire as she watched him, allowing her imagination to take her to that one place where she and Richard could finally be together the way they were supposed to be.

What she wanted was so forbidden, so dangerous that it scared her to think what she was truly capable of. Could she take the soul of the man she loved just to appease her own desire?

She swallowed back her heart as she leaned over to slip her boots on, doing her best to draw her emotions back inside once more. She attempted to lock them away deep down where she could hide them away only allowing them to come out later when she was alone again.

Grabbing her pack, she cast one more secret glance at her Seeker, allowing herself one more little indulgence before she knew he would start to worry about what was taking her so long. She couldn't allow him to come looking for her, to find her in such a heated emotional state. He would immediately know where her thoughts had been.

She knew they had promised to bury their feelings for one another, but the harder she tried, the more it grew beyond her control. It seemed to have taken on a life of its own, refusing to be ignored or locked away.

Curiosity got the better of her as she noticed him pick a couple of daises from the ground beside him. She couldn't help smiling to herself as he brought them to his nose, his eyes momentarily falling closed as he breathed in their soft sweet scent.

The serenity that veiled his face warmed her heart. She suddenly wished that she could find a way to always put that look on his face. He looked so at peace sitting there patiently waiting for her to return to him. It was as if he didn't have a care in the world, no evil lord hunting them down, no world resting upon his shoulders.

She found her heart expanding with her love for him, wanting to go to him, to touch him and be touched. Instead, she just watched him for the moment.

XXX

Richard settled beneath an old elm tree, its cool shade a grateful reprieve from the heat of summer. Setting his pack aside, he rested his back against the aged trunk, taking the given opportunity to relax while Kahlan bathed.

He had chosen this particular spot for a reason. From his position here, he was far enough away to give her the privacy that she needed and yet close enough if trouble arose. He didn't like being any further away from her than was absolutely necessary. With that thought, he checked to make sure his sword was clear in his scabbard, not wanting to take any chances where Kahlan's safety was concerned.

Tilting his head back, he closed his eyes, allowing his mind to drift to her. She permeated every part of him; his thoughts, his heart and soul, his will were all occupied by her. And he wouldn't have it any other way.

He knew that he had promised to bury his feelings for her and her for him, but she excited him like nothing that he'd ever known before, making him feel alive in way he'd never imagined possible. He thought that he had been alive; his life perfect before he'd met her. It wasn't until she had raced straight into his life that he had discovered otherwise.

She stirred something deep inside of him, created feelings within him that he could hardly control. He didn't want to control it when he was near her. He only wanted her. And the more he tried to deny his love, the deeper it grew, the more crushing it became.

No woman he met or knew could come close to measuring up to her. Her intelligence and beauty, her strength and abilities were beyond anything that he'd ever seen in another. And he knew there could never be another like her.

There was only one Kahlan Amnell and she had completely captured his heart. He already knew for him there was no going back no matter the overwhelming obstacles that stood in their way, her magic that kept them from being together in the way that he so desperately wanted.

His life was no longer his own, but hers. Her needs, her desires, her happiness were all his now. Nothing else mattered in this world to him but her.

He would find a way for them to be together if she would have him. He knew that he didn't have much to offer someone of such great importance as her, but he would willingly give her everything he had, give his all just to make sure she was happy and loved.

That was if she loved him in return.

Richard knew that she cared for him, had feelings for him, but how deeply had she buried those feelings? Had she been able to choke them off? Deny her love for him to the point of never returning?

It was like a dagger piercing his heart to think of her no longer loving him. Nothing Denna ever did to him could compare to the painful heartache of losing Kahlan's love. He would rather die in his quest to stop Darken Rahl than to be forced to watch her return to Aydindril to take a mate. The thought of her with another man caused jealous rage to hum through his veins, stealing his breath.

He squeezed his eyes closed at the thought, choosing rather to remember the special smile that she only gave to him, the way her bright blue eyes sparkled whenever she looked at him. He knew he wasn't imagining the love, the desire for him that flashed through her eyes only to disappear just as quickly as it had appeared.

She was battling her feelings for him just as he was.

Sighing heavily, he finally opened his eyes. Looking to his right, he suddenly noticed the small patch of daises next to him. He picked two of them, bringing them to his nose and inhaling deeply. The soft scent drifted through him, reminding him of Kahlan, causing a sense of warmth to permeate his heart.

Carefully setting aside one of the daisies on top of his pack, he held the other flower in his hands, staring at it in thought. He lightly ran the tip of his finger over the delicate petals, noting the softness. It reminded him of Kahlan's velvet soft skin, how he longed to touch her again.

He knew that he shouldn't allow his thoughts to take him there. It only made the pain of not being with her that much more unbearable, but he couldn't help it. He would always long for her no matter what he did, no matter how hard he tried not to.

His gaze narrowed in thought as he suddenly plucked a petal. "She loves me…" he murmured to himself.

He plucked another. "She loves me not…"

He did not like those words on his tongue or the way it made his heart feel like lead in his chest. He quickly plucked another petal.

"She loves me…"

Richard smiled to himself, loving the sound of it, taking pleasure in how it tasted on his tongue. His eyes brightened, his heart stuttering in his chest. Spirits, she had such a profound effect on him and she wasn't even here at the moment.

"She loves me not…"

He frowned to himself, the heaviness in his heart quickly returning as abruptly as it had disappeared. He began carefully removing one petal at a time, repeating the altering words with each pluck of a petal, allowing them to float to the grass beneath him.

He knew this was ridiculous. A flower could not tell him with any certainty if Kahlan had truly locked away her feelings for him or not, but he couldn't stop now. He was down to just a few petals. He had to know.

He continued to pull the petals off, hoping Kahlan didn't show up at that precise moment. It would be beyond embarrassing for the Seeker to be seen picking petals off of a flower.

"Richard, what are you doing?"

Her beautiful voice cut through his focused concentration, causing him to suddenly freeze as a smile slowly spread across his face. He quickly grabbed the other daisy and his pack as he stood to his feet.

"Nothing," he innocently said, a knowing smile still on his lips. "Just waiting for you."

Kahlan's eyes danced in amusement as she stared at him. Having watched him from the secrecy of the willows, she knew very well what he had been doing. She could barely fight the smile that tugged at her lips, a knowing glint in her eyes.

Richard grinned at her, handing her the daisy that he'd set aside of her. Kahlan smiled her special smile as she took the flower, knowing that he was hiding the other one behind his back. She was curious as to what he had discovered with his little game.

"Thank you, Richard," she softly replied, bringing it to her nose and breathing deeply.

He couldn't erase the lop-sided grin that was plastered on his face, the pleasure that permeated her bright blue eyes warming him clear to his toes. She never ceased to steal his breath away. He wanted so badly to kiss her, to make love to her right here beneath the tree among the daisies, to brush their petals against her delicate skin as he made her his.

As if reading his thoughts, Kahlan took an unexpected step closer to him, the tips of their boots touching. His breath hitched as she slowly leaned in, her gaze falling to his mouth. She pressed her lips softly against his, kissing him slowly and relishing the sweet moment. She secretly hoped more than anything that he knew that she truly loved him with all her heart.

His fingers lightly touched her face, a soft sigh escaping his lips as she pulled away. His head was spinning, his pulse racing. He wanted so badly to pull her to him and kiss her the way that he truly wanted, but he knew he couldn't. He didn't want to scare her away.

This had been a big step for her, allowing him to see her heart again. He had a personal mission now to make her his, to slowly win her heart again, to make her believe in a future spent with him.

Kahlan bit her bottom lip, fighting back the smile that graced her face as she turned to leave. Slinging his pack over his shoulder, Richard drew a deep breath in an effort to rein in his desire for her as he watched her begin to walk away.

He held up the daisy with the lone petal, a smile permanently etched on his face now. "She loves me," he whispered, a thrill of excitement thrumming through his veins.

"Coming with me?" she called.

"Always," he smirked, the daisy in his hand slipping from his fingers as she glanced at him over her shoulder.

The love for him that she allowed to shine brightly in her sapphire eyes at that moment nearly made him forget his name as he quickly ran to catch up with her, the daisy long forgotten in the grass.

**THE END**


End file.
